Dubai's Rahhal to revolutionise the way we learn

With the shelf life of skills shrinking and investing in competencies for future roles gaining currency, it is crucial that the method of learning evolves. The emphasis should be on strengthening work-life skills - skills that empower people to adapt to changes and succeed across roles. For this, it's imperative that educational institutions ceased being schools and moved on to become learning centres. A paradigm shift in education, with the distinct roles of teachers and learners blurring, is the need of the hour. For education can no longer be defined in terms of what a teacher will teach but what a student will be able to demonstrate. Traditional learning needs to mature to focus on a project-based system that allows individualised programmes in which the stakeholders of education -  learners, teachers and parents - are directly involved. It is here that the Knowledge and Human Development Authority's (KHDA) Rahhal gains importance.

Rahhal is the authority's contribution to the Dubai 10X initiative, a venture overseen by the Dubai Future Foundation. It is set to revolutionise our understanding and experience of learning by providing an alternative approach that can be customised as per the learners' specific needs. It will enable them to study part-time at mainstream schools and part-time elsewhere. They can study at two or more schools, or learn at home, if they so wish. Older learners who wish to learn 'on the job' can opt for the option while adults who wish to continue learning can design their own programmes. The initiative with its innovative strategy is expected to spur a more robust training environment. Rahhal is the latest initiative that will enable the emirate to equip its youngsters with the right set of skills. Any change calls for a disruption of how we think and how we work. But when it facilitates meaningful learning and life opportunities, it needs to be welcomed wholeheartedly. Dubai is breaking away from tradition. It is steadfastly getting ahead of the rest of the world by 10 years, and it is up to us, residents, to seize the opportunity and grow with it.